Spaces & Flows: Ninth International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies

Abstract

Human environment all over the world is increasingly transforming into urban character. According to a study by Population Research Bureau in 2005, 60% of the world population will be urban by 2030 and expected to be maximum in less developed countries. India exhibits this urban feature more prominently. At the same time, urbanisation has emerged as a significant driver of agricultural transitions in the developing world with mixed outcomes on production landscapes and livelihoods. Varied stressors of urban origin like growing demand for land and exotic commodities together with changes in availability of inputs including water and labour drive the diverse functions of peri-urban farmlands in unanticipated directions. The paper into a case of agricultural transitions in urban peripheries of Bengaluru, India’s technology hub that is home to nearly 10 million inhabitants. Commercial, industrial and residential construction, pollution, and landscape fragmentation in and around Bengaluru have greatly transformed agricultural landscapes in its periphery. Using a combination of land use change analysis and exploratory interactions, the paper attempts to trace temporal and spatial patterns and its linkages with agro-ecological parameters. Drawing insights from analysis, the paper ascertains modes of urbanisation that can be relatively benign in sustaining agro-ecological integrity and agrarian livelihoods.